So the Playstation 4 was officially announced today, and although they didn’t show the console, I have to say that they have really impressed me. A lot of the rumours speculating on the PS4 prior to this really had me worried, and I was considering whether I should give up on Sony altogether, and maybe switching to Steam, especially with them possibly bringing out a console.

However, what they announced today, in terms of features, really has me excited. For those of you that don’t know, then I’ll give you a list of things off the top of my head:

– A share button on the new controller, which allows instant uploading of pictures and videos of gameplay directly to the internet, and also the ability to live-stream your gameplay to certain websites!
– New social connectivity, so that players can help each other in new ways. For example, if your friend was stuck on a level, then you could take control from your system, and help them out. There are videos which explain this in greater detail, which makes it sound even better.
– Backwards compatibility for PS3, PS2 and PS1 games. However, it will be through the use of a cloud system, so I believe the games you want to play may have to be re-purchased (But don’t quote me on that).
– The power button puts the system on stand-by, as it has done on the previous iterations. However, when loading the system back up, it will return to where you were previously, and if that was in the middle of a game, then that is where you’ll start, which I think is fantastic.
– Pre-owned games WILL be available! There were a lot of rumours speculating against this, but it has been confirmed.
– Demos can now be previewed via an online stream before downloading, and demos can also be played whilst it is downloading…

That’s all I can think of right now, but I feel it’s very exciting. Speaking strictly from an F1 games’ point of view, some of these features will be amazing. The uploading and streaming of videos, for example, which will allow every player in a league to record their race! That in itself makes me very happy.

I think that with all this new social connectivity, the Playstation 4 is obviously going to need to be quite a powerful system. I’m not sure on the specs, but they can be found in videos and what not quite easily, but I’m sure that lag will be less of an issue than ever before. Obviously, the system can’t help poor internet connections, but it has given me a lot more confidence in the future of leagues for F1 games.

Now all we need is for Codemasters to step it up a gear. I don’t want to turn this into a discussion about them, but I think if they can utilize the power of the next generation, then F1 2014 could be a hell of game!

Looking good, although as a YouTuber and Streamer, those features dont appeal to me and only saturate the market :P Backwards compatibility would be great if i had a PS1/2 and didnt plan to sell my games :P I do like the multi-tasking feature as that is a life saver for DLC.

Knowing CM tho as more people will have the PS3 then PS4 come Sep 2014 they will still do it on PS3 and hopefully port it across with more PS4 feature if its under £350 im there :)

It looks good to me and I’m likely to buy it. As far as I was concerned, as long as the controller was of a similar size to the previous one, I was likely to be interested. I can’t play with Xbox controllers as they’re too big for what I’m used to and my hands usually cramp whilst playing with them. One thing I would like to know however is where the pause button is, in the middle of the controller I see a touchscreen, a share and options button and the PS button.

I’ve seen a mixed reception so far over the unveiling, though most of the critics are complaining about Sony revealing so little, though I don’t see why Sony would show everything about the console not when it is set to come out at the end of the year (probably next year for the UK).

@Slr – The controller is set to have an ‘options’ button, which combines the functions of the select and start buttons of the previous controller.

But I agree, it would be foolish of Sony to reveal everything now, and then have nothing left leading up to Christmas. I expect that there will be more revealed at E3, and throughout the year to keep the hype up. I don’t see why they would release in the UK next year though. It would be a hugely missed opportunity if the console wasn’t released worldwide before Christmas, which the rumours do suggest.

I dont think it will come out for at least a year, the ps3 had it’s first unveil 18 months before release afterall, and people like Rockstar won’t be happy at bringing GTA 5 out just a month or two before a new console

I had mixed reactions to the articles I’ve read. It’s been 7 years since the launch of the PS3 and I was expecting to be blown away but unfortunately I cannot say that I was. First, they should have shown us what the machine looks like and for Sony’s sake it should espouse the iconic design that Sony was renowned for in the 90s and that inspired Apple and particularly the iPhone – which is a replica of the original PSP. Judging by the redesigns of the PS3 over the years, it looks like the PS4 will look about as interesting as a red brick…

Obviously it will be a more beefy PC-like machine and it should be able to handle more graphics at 1080p but I was expecting some magical new functionality that I would really get excited about.

The previous gen was a truly revolutionary machine adding the following features: High Definition gaming, Blu-ray, wireless controllers and networking, free PSN, a decent digital media library and player.

What does the long awaited console bring us?

Sounds like more of the same really. If anything the delay in launching the PS4 has caused a stagnation of new IPs which are usually reserved for new console launches.

So essentially, the PS4 has cost us many great games that we could have enjoyed over the past 2 years.

What about web browsing on our TVs with some gestures on the controller? What about DVR functionality? What about tablet integration? What about games that we really care about (not Final Fantasy 2199 or Killzone 98)?

Being able to drop into a friends game to help him out from your own Station isn’t revolutionary then?

How about the fact that you can play the games you want at any time on any compatible device? That’s slightly better than mere tablet integration, don’t you think? Sony reckon they will be able to have compatibility on laptops, phones, tablets and the Vita, so in my house alone I would have 5 different ways of playing ANY game I own. If that’s not “revolutionary” then I don’t know what is!

Not only that, but the controller has a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone dock, a motion sensor via camera, the dualshocks, a share button and enhanced sticks, but still has that iconic look to it.

Combine this with the new cloud system they are rolling out, the ability to try any game instantly and the fact that preowned games WILL work and PS1, 2 and 3 games will all be available on the cloud, I think we’ve got a revolutionary console on our hands!

@Sam3110 – I couldn’t have put it better myself :D. I really believe that the PS4 is looking nothing short of incredible so far, and I’m sure that there is still more to come.

As for GTA 5, I wouldn’t be surprised they have been developing on both consoles, or if they bring out an updated edition a year later, a GTA 5 Next-gen if you will, the same way that F1 06 was made into F1:CE for the PS3.

I also feel that later in the year there will be more games that will be shown as upcoming games for the PS4 to draw people into buying one immediately. The only game I can think of at the moment though would be the next instalment of Uncharted, which I would love!

Being able to drop into a friends game to help him out from your own Station isn’t revolutionary then?

I have to see how that will work because if it’s a game feature then cross-platform games may not support it. I also have to see how it’s used. How is that better than a multiplayer game where a friend is another character and can help you?

How about the fact that you can play the games you want at any time on any compatible device? That’s slightly better than mere tablet integration, don’t you think? Sony reckon they will be able to have compatibility on laptops, phones, tablets and the Vita, so in my house alone I would have 5 different ways of playing ANY game I own. If that’s not “revolutionary” then I don’t know what is!

I’ll have to wait to see that. Sony is a Japanese company so the idea of support all tablets is a pretty comical one.

Not only that, but the controller has a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone dock, a motion sensor via camera, the dualshocks, a share button and enhanced sticks, but still has that iconic look to it.

The controller is definitely one area where they can revolutionize gameplay. At least they’ve made it more like the xbox controller – finally:-)

My main concern is how will we able to touch the touchpad at the top? That’s generally consider no man’s land on the controller. Maybe they should gone with a Vita-like controller?

Combine this with the new cloud system they are rolling out, the ability to try any game instantly and the fact that preowned games WILL work and PS1, 2 and 3 games will all be available on the cloud, I think we’ve got a revolutionary console on our hands!

I will believe it when I see it – the game installation for the PS3 and its updates were notoriously unfriendly so anything will be progress in my eyes;-) Cloud is good especially for savegames since you can lose everything otherwise in the event of HDD failure but they sound a lot better and more useful than they are in real life.

I feel slightly underwhelmed to be honest, but perhaps my tastes have changed. Watch Dogs looks awesome, but is multiplatform, while the rest is… decent, I guess. I was never truly excited, but I guess other people will be different.

I’ll reserve judgement until I see more, but Sony’s fortunes will depend, one way or another, on what Microsoft and Nintendo do. I love the idea behind the Wii U, for example, and am in the process of saving up for one, so the PS4 will be off my list for quite a while yet.

Speaking as a PS3 owner planning to upgrade in the near future, I’m reserving final judgement on the PS4 until more information is released. For now, at least, I haven’t seen anything truly compelling about the new console.

The hardware upgrades were to be expected. While the new social features are indeed intriguing, I do hope the actual execution doesn’t end up half-baked, like with so many other Sony ideas (the PS Move, for instance).

From what we’ve seen so far, the launch line-up has a noticeable lack of first-party exclusives. Watch Dogs and Destiny are impressive, but what of Sony’s own IPs, old and new? Aside from a new Killzone (which isn’t really appealing, given how underwhelming Killzone 3 was), Sony’s internal studios (Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Media Molecule, et al.) are conspicuously absent. Whether or not they are withholding announcements from those developers for later, it does dull the impact of the announcement somewhat.

However some of you seem to have been reading different stuff to me – first that the console is NOT backward compatible – certain games may be converted and then released, in the same way you can get old arcade games at the moment on PSN, but you will have to buy them and your old disks will only be useful as coasters. And although the Gaikai stuff is built in, it’s not clear exactly what that’s going to mean in terms of streaming/remote content. Certainly I didn’t see any mention of anything other than the Vita being a medium by which you can actually play your games. I could be wrong though, I don’t know. I’d be surprised if you saw a very fleshed out PS4 app coming to your iPad ever. Certainly not anything which would actually integrate into your gaming experience in a way which could be considered revolutionary.

Basically it looks like the PS4 is playing it totally safe, and unfortunately I think the gaming world has frankly moved beyond the days when you could get away with just improving the hardware for your new console release. Where’s the USP for this console; what’s it going to do that no other console will? So far, I can’t see anything whatsoever.